1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink onto a record medium to print, and also to a maintenance method of an ink-jet head included in the ink-jet recording apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
In an ink-jet recording apparatus, a nozzle of an ink-jet head may be clogged with ink to deteriorate the ink ejection performance, resulted from generation of bubbles within the nozzle, entrance of dust into the nozzle, an increase in viscosity of ink due to evaporation of an ink solvent, etc. In order to avoid the trouble, in general, an ink-jet recording apparatus includes therein a maintenance unit for removing the above causes of the trouble from nozzles of an ink-jet head. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,066 discloses a maintenance unit including a purge cap for covering the nozzle face of an ink-jet head where nozzles are arranged, to prevent the nozzles from being dried. The purge cap is connected to a suction pump or the like to forcibly discharge ink. The maintenance unit further includes a blade for cleaning the nozzle face, and a rotatable porous member.
However, if a wiping operation with the blade is performed in a state wherein a relatively large amount of ink has adhered to the nozzle face of the head, ink may fly within the apparatus or may be collected on an edge of the head. In this case, ink may adhere to a print paper or various components within the apparatus. This brings about deterioration of the print quality or a trouble of the mechanical operation.
On the other hand, any porous member has its limit in ink absorption capacity. If the limit is exceeded, the cleaning effect decreases. In a sliding operation of the porous member of the above-described prior art, however, the limit of the ink absorption capacity is easily exceeded because the operation is performed in a state wherein a relatively large amount of ink has adhered to the nozzle face. There is a problem that the cleaning effect is easy to decrease.